Eyelashes is Quilted!

"Eyelashes" (80" x 80") is quilted at last, just in time for the local quilt show.

I finished the top a few years ago, and quilted it over the last few months.

I used black perle #8 cotton and wool batting.

The design and quilting is inspired by Kathy Doughty's "Gypsy Kisses" in her book, Making Quilts. 

I used Kaffe Fassett's "Pickle Dish" pattern from his book, Quilt Romance.

Next up more fans! 

This one is inspired by this quilt made by Julie Fukuda and her quilt group in Tokyo.

Red!

 I finished the Scrappy Red Trips top this week.  

Scrappy Red Trips 60" x 72"

It was an experiment to see if I could use all reds in a quilt.  

Can't say I'm all that fond of it.  

But it got me thinking about other red quilts I've made.  I was surprised to see how many!

The first one was made in a class with Kaffe Fassett in about 2006. 

I made this from the scraps of the Kaffe quilt later that year.

This was inspired by the large print that I found at Goodwill.  I think it was made in about 2007.

This one was inspired by a quilt on the cover of the book, Georgia Quilts, in about 2008.

I made this one in a class with Freddy Moran in 2010.  The basket block is in the book, Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again, by Gwen Marsten and Freddy Moran.

I made "Eyelashes" in 2010, with a pattern in Kaffe Fassett's book, Quilt Romance.

This was made in 2010 with some gals over at the 15 minutes play blog.  

It's inspired by one called "Red Sticks" in Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again.

Hmm, will I ever get tired of red?  Maybe.

Better Late Than Never

I just finished this hand applique wall hanging from Sue Spargo's block of the month for 2009. It took me two years, but never mind. It was my first wool applique project, and I learned a lot. You can find this pattern in her book, Contemporary Folk.



I love the way she combines wool, cotton, velvet and silk, plus special yarns for embellishment. Now to quilt it. Hopefully that won't take a third year to complete!



Meanwhile, I've been working on the eyelashes quilt. Thanks to Victoria's and Buffy's fabric contributions, and Bonnie's consultation, it's well on its way. Only 23 more "eyes" to go!

Good bye 2010; Hello 2011

After three months of hand quilting, this quilt inspired by Anna Williams is finished! There was a LOT of stitching going on the last few days of 2010. A photo of the original quilt is published in the book, "Nancy Crow," by Nancy Crow.



Buffy gave me the idea to quilt it in red thread. I used #8 perle cotton and a sashiko needle.



I so enjoy hand-quilting!

Now for a preview of what's coming in 2011.


This is one quarter of the eyelashes quilt, otherwise known as "Pickle Dish" in Kaffe Fassett's book, Quilt Romance.



These are some old blocks, taken from a quilt top I bought at an antique store last summer. I'm thinking of resetting them like this.



And here's my 15 minutes play project, made from my basket full of scraps!

I've been part of blogland for six months now. And can't believe all the wonderful friends I've made! Everyone is so welcoming and supportive. I'm hugely grateful for your generous inspiration, scraps, blocks, advice and encouragement this year. Here's wishing you a very happy, healthy and creative 2011!!

Visions of the 1970's

I found this groovy quilt yesterday at Goodwill. It's completely made of polyester double knit, that is, all but the avocado drapery fabric back and yarn ties. In one corner, the maker embroidered "74." I'm going to assume that was the year it was made, which was the year after I graduated from high school.




This morning I noticed how this quilt is weirdly similar. When I made it a few years ago in a Kaffe Fassett class, I didn't know why I was choosing these colors. The greenish brown was especially odd for me. But the look felt familiar in some way. Kaffe commented that this quilt had "a sense of history to it."




My sister-in-law, Bonnie, has talked about how the things we see in our childhood have a profound influence on our creative vision.



Hmm. Maybe this is proof of that!

Quilt Blog Girls Rock!

You are all so amazing! Last night I panicked, asked for help, and so many of you immediately came through with advice, encouragement and good humor. Thanks to you, I can now make curved seams without holding my breath, hunching my shoulders and furling my brow. They're not perfect, but by the fourth one, I actually said to myself, "Hey, this is fun!" Thank you!!!

Oh, and that black fabric in the corners that you're all drooling over? That's from Victoria.

News just in! Janet at Quiltsalott in Australia has the most wonderful tutorials on curved piecing, using this very pattern. I hope you'll look them up, mate!

Eye Lash Progress

I actually sewed this block together today, curved seams and all. Whoo! This is heading into advanced territory for me.



I also made more paper foundation lashes. Yipes! There are lots more curved seams to sew. Does anyone know any tricks for these? Thanks!

Red Lightning

Look what the busy bees over at 15 minutes play made!! November was my month to receive blocks from these wonderful gals. What a bunch of creativity and generosity entered my mailbox all month! Some are bold, some intricate. The combination is just perfect. Thank you to all!!





After all that excitement, I felt like making something with a pattern. I love this quilt on the cover of Kaffe's Quilt Romance. He calls it Pickle Dish. I call it Eye Lashes. I've often said I'd never do paper piecing. Never say never!



This is just the beginning. There are 30 more "eyes" to make. The red background idea came from a beautiful quilt pictured on Ann Champion's blog.

Gone Dotty!

Barbara Brackman recently posted about how polka dots have been used over the years. Modern, stylish women were using polka dots way back in the late 19th century. There was even a Polka Dot Club!

It got me thinking about the quilts I've made with polka dots, and some of the teachers who've shared my love of the nifty little shape.



I made this quilt in a workshop with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably a few years ago.
They taught me how to focus on the colors and combine them in a pleasing way.



Dots come in more than one shape!



Last fall, I got to take a workshop with Freddy Moran. She taught me that any colors go together, the more the better. This is the Liberated Wedding Ring pattern in her book with Gwen Marston, Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again.



Anything goes!


I made this one with the Gee's Bend gals in 2009. They taught me how to choose fabrics by using my intuition. And put away that rotary cutter!



They all loved this black and white dot, cut from an old dress.




Last summer, I made this quilt in a class with Denyse Schmidt. I chose the red dot as my focus fabric. She taught me how to use scraps in an improvisational way.



Dots go with everything!

14 Shirts and a Pair of Pants

This is all made from clothing I bought at thrift stores. While I was shopping, I gave myself three rules: spend no more than $1.29 a piece, make sure they're 100% cotton, and of course they had to be stripes. This quilt is inspired by one in Kaffe Fassett's book, Passionate Patchwork, and by Beth and her summer striped challenge.





Here you can see the Ralph Lauren logo on one of the shirts.





This tool helped a lot. See how easy it is to line up the stripes? I cut triangles for 3", 6" and 9" squares.





Meanwhile, I made these hot pads for a friend's birthday. They're made of 5" squares of hand dyed fabrics from Malka at a stitch in dye. I love these fabrics!